Honoring Long-Term Friendships Through Yoga Practice and Gratitude August 2, 2026

This week’s blog may be short but for good reason. Over the past week I have had the joy of spending time with some of my oldest friends. When I reflect on the power of friendship, I realize that enduring relationships, the thick and thin kinds of friends, are gifts.

Recently in our practice, we have been focusing on being present, ditching the excess and savoring the here and how. I have been very aware of being present in recent days as I have had the good fortune to spend time with childhood friends, some that live a distance away and we do not see often.

We celebrated retirement, had long beach days stretching into happy hour, leisurely dinners and lots of giggles.  We were also sobered, contemplating some serious health and life challenges impacting some of our circle and their families.

These are friends who we played jump rope with on the playground in elementary school, prayed that the softball would not come to us with in junior high gym class, set fires with in 9^th grade science class, did some unmentionable pranks with in early “adulthood” and lived through bad hair and outfits with over the decades. We have supported each other in relationships, career and family predicaments. In this same group, we have encountered health issues and the passing of loved ones and other significant life events. Despite some significant differences of opinion on a myriad of topics, the cement that binds us is the result of over 50 years of knowing each other; this transcends all when the proverbial push comes to shove.

True friends know when to call and when not to. They know when to send food and when to send themselves, whether it be 5 miles or 5,000. These are the friends that know, just by how you say hello, what you are calling about or that you need them. I am grateful for them.

This week I am celebrating the power of friendship.  Like yoga, friendships support spaces of trust, non-judgement and physical connection. Our yoga practice can teach self acceptance which helps us treat our friends with more patience and without judgement. Like yoga, our commuity of friends gives us a safe place to share life struggles and helps us feel like we belong. My practice intention will be directed toward healing for friends, their spouses and their children facing health challenges and gratitude for having them all in my life.

Meditating With Gratitude on Friendship

“There is nothing I would not do for those who are really my friends. I have no notion of loving people by halves; it is not my nature.” ― Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey

“You can't stay in your corner of the Forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes.” ― A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh

 “A friend is one that knows you as you are, understands where you have been, accepts what you have become, and still, gently allows you to grow.” ― William Shakespeare

This week as part of your practice, reach out to a friend and let them know how much they mean to you.

See you on the mat!

Namaste,

Julia Anne